Elements of the Campaign

COMMUNICATE WITH WOMEN VOTERS

The right-wing has used the power of language to mislead voters about the true aims of their policy priorities. "Partial Birth Abortion," "The California Civil Rights Initiative," "Leave No Child Behind," and "Choice," which now often refers to school vouchers or the right to buy a gas-guzzling SUV, are all brilliant examples of the misappropriation of language.

We need new language and a new message to reach women and men in every part of the country who can join in the debate and inspire activism on the issues. We intend to capitalize on NOW's reputation and unparalleled name recognition to enhance our ability to attract media attention both for our national and our local grassroots work.

There are four components to our communications strategy:

• Increase Exposure of Key Issues in the Mass Media
  Media visibility, particularly the coveted "earned media," will increase as we develop and market compelling issue messages that resonate with our base and, more importantly, with the constituencies we need to reach. As we develop new messages, we will provide our activists with the media training and materials they need to effectively communicate with both mainstream and alternative outlets.

• Enhance Our Electronic Communications Systems
  Electronic communications systems are key to quickly reaching activists and supporters in a cost-effective way. In addition to NOW's current website, we will develop additional issue-oriented web sites, like our successful TheTruthAboutGeorge.com. And with an increasingly sophisticated use of email, we can identify and deliver our messages to new activists, as well as upgrading and expanding our rapid response ability. Adding state networks, which will allow us to include state legislative action on key issues, will increase our effectiveness since many battles are being fought at that level.

• Develop New Publications
  Publications and printed materials are of course vital to the success of local activists in communicating our messages on the issues. On-line materials available for downloading will include flyers, brochures, postcards, talking points on campaign issues, and a monthly national NOW newsletter with campaign updates.

• Build a Network of Messengers for Women's Rights
  Messengers are as important to carefully develop as the message itself. We plan to build a strong network of "talkers" in every state in which we work-articulate people who understand the issues and are willing to spread the message by calling in to radio talk shows, writing letters to the editor, monitoring and posting on community bulletin boards, on email lists, in Internet chat rooms, and so on. We will teach these activists how to customize our talking points to ensure they are relevant to their local communities, how to deal with the media and give effective interviews, and how to get "earned media" for their campaigns. And, we will identify and develop local media trainers who can continue to provide hands-on media training to chapters and action teams as new activists become involved in NOW.

FOCUS ON MOTIVATING ISSUES

Reproductive rights and economic justice are two motivating issues that are both in great jeopardy. On each issue there are concrete goals we can set and accomplish that will significantly impact the well-being of women and families, and show participants concrete gains from the Drive for Equality.

Goals on Reproductive Rights

• Stop the confirmation of anti-choice/anti-woman judges to all federal courts.
• Influence the makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court
• Expose the anti-birth control and anti-family planning agenda of the right wing.
• Win back the full privacy and reproductive health rights of girls and women.

Goals on Economic Justice

• Oppose Social Security privatization and make benefits more equitable
• Demand quality health care for all, including prescription drug coverage
• Support fair economic and tax policies
• Demand pay equity for women
• Advocate for adequate family supports, such as:
  • quality child care
  • paid family and medical leave

EMPOWER ACTIVISTS

NOW's time-tested model for effective grassroots organizing has three key components:

• Local organizers will be deployed into key areas across the country where grassroots organizing can substantially improve women's participation and leadership economically, socially and politically.

• Training for new and seasoned activists: conducting a political assessment of the community, building supporter lists, getting media exposure, creating the message, planning local actions, organizing rapid response teams, and fund raising.

• Action campaigns with tangible results: the means by which the chapters will tap into and mobilize the broad base of support in their communities for women's rights. The actions will likely take a wide variety of forms, such as demonstrations or rallies, lobby days with local legislators, town hall forums to educate the public on women's issues, and accountability sessions with elected officials.

NOW exhorts our activists to "send reinforcements" to Congress, but it's equally true that we must constantly send reinforcements to our grassroots leaders to keep them strong and vital agents of change in their communities.

TARGET KEY STATES AND SWING VOTERS

Key battleground states were chosen as the first target group for the Drive for Equality. Each of the nine states has two or more of following criteria: key presidential battleground, key Senate or Congressional race, strong NOW activist base, history of successful NOW political organizing campaign.

• Florida
  Presidential battleground, possible open Senate seat in 2004, strong state-wide NOW base.
• Georgia
  Open Senate seat in 2004, strong NOW membership in Atlanta and current development campaign outside of Atlanta.
• Illinois
  Open Senate seat in 2004 with probable women's rights supporter candidate, traditionally early Presidential primary, strong NOW leadership with base in Chicago and suburbs.
• Iowa
  Presidential battleground state and 2004 Senate race, early primary with increased media attention.
• New Hampshire
  Presidential battleground state, early primary, and 2004 Senate and Governor races, strong state-wide NOW leadership; NOW did political organizing project in 2002.
• Ohio
  Presidential battleground state, strong statewide NOW base, and many active campuses.
• Oregon
  Presidential battleground state and 2004 Senate race with a NOW/PAC endorsed incumbent, strong NOW base; 80% of state's House delegation are NOW/PAC endorsed candidates.
• Pennsylvania
  Presidential battleground state, strong NOW leadership state-wide with a significant membership base.
• Washington
  2004 Senate race with NOW/PAC endorsed incumbent who may face competitive opposition; strong state-wide NOW base, presidential battleground.

Matching NOW's lists of members and supporters with local voter registration files allows further concentration of voter registration and education efforts. Additionally, we will work with allied organizations to identify, reach and train potential new activists. By matching each organization's supporter lists with voter files, we can find those individuals the groups have in common and, with greater efficiency, jointly approach them with a call to political action.

We will also need to contact and mobilize those groups of swing voters who are likely supporters of NOW's issues. For example, many progressive candidates in the last election cycle did not turn out the votes of suburban women ages 35 to 49. These women, who are still in their reproductive years, are frequently juggling childcare, work responsibilities, the care of aging parents and an uncertain economic future. A targeted NOW campaign of voter education on issues such as the threat to birth control, safe accessible and affordable child care for all, universal healthcare and education issues (like Title IX for their daughters), could be effective in bringing this group out to vote for progressive candidates.

Single women are especially responsive to progressive messages about health care, job security, retirement benefits and other women's issues, and over 21 million of them never made it to the polling booth on Election Day in 2000. Only 52% of eligible single women voted, compared to 68% of eligible married women-and because single women are more likely to support a progressive candidate, many election outcomes could have been changed in 2000 if only single women had voted at the same rate as married women! We need to find these women, register them and get them to the polls in 2004.

Campuses are another area where the key constituency of young women can be mobilized around the issues of reproductive rights and economic justice. We will coordinate efforts with other progressive groups to turn out volunteers and voters.

Of course, our strategies for choosing which of the various groups of swing voters to target and how best to reach them will vary from state to state, depending on local circumstances.

The main goal is to increase voter participation-to turn out our targeted constituencies to support progressive feminist candidates on Election Day. Our many years of campaign organizing experience—as well as field-testing done by both major political parties—have taught us that the most effective way to get voters to the polls is through repeated one-on-one contact.

We will use our seasoned field organizers to train and direct NOW chapter leaders and activists in the full range of voter empowerment activities, including:

• voter registration drives,
• voter education,
• phone banking, particularly to NOW's membership and supporter lists,
• door-to-door campaigning,
• tabling at community events, and
• repeated get-out-the-vote contacts

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